Chapter 5
Nadia sat on the bed with her legs stretched out, not bothering to get comfortable.
She’d tried earlier, shifting pillows and tugging at the covers, but nothing had helped.
The mattress felt too soft beneath her and too firm at the same time.
She was still full from supper, heavy in a way that made lying down unpleasant, and the tension in her shoulders refused to ease.
Even rearranging her sock drawer hadn’t relaxed her like it usually did.
The house was quiet, the kind of quiet that made every small sound stand out, like the tick of cooling pipes or the faint creak of wood settling.
It left her alone with her thoughts, and they kept circling back to Dax.
He’d seemed decent. Polite. He’d stood there breathing and talking, and now he was gone.
Her laptop sat on her legs, the heat from it barely noticeable. She stared at the screen, then her phone buzzed. She answered it. “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Emily. I’m checking on you.”
Nadia’s gaze stayed on the scrolling text. Lines of symbols and half-deciphered words crept down the screen as she typed another command, muscle memory doing most of the work. The bedspread was twisted beneath her knees. “I’m fine. How are you?”
“You can’t be fine. Come on, Nadia. I know you better than that.”
Nadia exhaled slowly, trying to find the right words to reassure her sister when she couldn’t find them for herself. “Things are weird. There’s no denying it.” Her fingers hovered over the keys and then moved again. “Dax died.”
Emily inhaled sharply. “He died?”
“Yeah. Somebody poisoned the tea we had for the ritual.” Nadia leaned back against the headboard, and the solid wood pressed into her shoulders. She shifted her weight to release some of the pressure. The room felt smaller at night with the shadows filling the corners.
Emily coughed. “Do you think one of the other challengers did it?”
“I don’t know.” Nadia couldn’t figure out why anybody would sink so low. “What do you think?”
“Well,” Emily said slowly, “the Ravencall Pack has poisoned other packs before. Exotic spices are their thing.”
Nadia rubbed at her eye, careful not to smear the tired ache behind it into something worse. The headache had been waiting all evening, sharp enough to be distracting but not bad enough to stop her. “Luca Cross didn’t drink the tea. Didn’t he say he has ties to the Ravencalls?”
“Yes. The guy said that. They’re masters with spices as well as poison.”
Nadia chewed on her inner cheek. “I find it too much of a coincidence that he didn’t drink any of the tea.”
“That is suspicious,” Emily muttered. “Just say the word and I’ll come get you out of there.”
Nadia glanced back at the code, at the way the ancient text resisted being neat or cooperative.
Oh, she didn’t have the actual words from the grimoire, but she’d gathered enough of the old words from just speaking with pack members who remembered a sentence or two that she had a big enough sample.
Unfortunately, most of the words or phrases the folks remembered were either expletives or dirty limericks, but that was life.
“I appreciate it, but we’re locked in. Once the trials start, there’s no backing out. Anyone who tries gets hunted.”
“And then what?” Emily demanded.
Who the heck knew. “They’re ostracized and maybe killed.” Her stomach rolled, and she paused long enough to steady herself. “I’m trying to translate the grimoire myself.”
Emily went quiet. “You don’t trust Solomon?”
“I think I do,” Nadia said. “But I want to see it with my own eyes. He reads things straight down the middle. There’s got to be room for interpretation.”
“That’s fair,” Emily said. “Solomon’s always been by the book. That’s why he became the librarian.”
Nadia snorted softly. “Figures. Okay. Lighter topic. How are the wedding plans?” She needed to think of something happy, even if just for a few minutes.
“Good. I picked the dress this morning. It’s hand-sewn and beautiful.” Emily hesitated. “You’ll be my maid of honor, right?”
Nadia smiled, happiness spreading through her. “Of course.”
Emily sighed. “We’ll get you safe. I promise.”
Nadia’s gaze stayed on the screen as she watched the code fill in the blanks. “I don’t want any of those males to die.”
“If you want to run,” Emily said gently, “Jackson’s pack will protect you.”
“I know,” Nadia replied. “But then the packs will go to war.” She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again and went back to the screen. Some things cost too much.
Suddenly the window blew open and cold air rushed in. Caidrik jumped inside, shoulders wide, face pale, eyes lit with that unnatural glow. Snow scattered across the sill and the floor, melting into dark specks on the wood.
Nadia’s hand jerked off the laptop keys. “Um, Em? I have to go.” Her body warmed up head to toe in a heated flush.
“What’s going on?” Emily gasped.
“Nothing. Everything is fine, and I’ll call you tomorrow. Trust me.” Nadia ended the call with her thumb tight around her phone. “Caidrik, what are you doing?”
He reached back and shut the window, checking the latch with a rough push as if he didn’t trust it to hold.
The chill lingered anyway, creeping over the room and settling against her skin.
His breathing sounded thick. “Checking in to make sure you’re okay,” he said, his voice so low it sounded like he’d been chewing on pinecones all night.
Nadia sat up straighter, the blanket sliding to her waist. She watched him the way she’d learned to watch everything lately, with suspicion first. “How are you?”
“I’ve been better.” He kicked off his boots by the wall, brushed snow off his dark shirt, and dragged a hand over his face. “Is Dax dead?”
“Yes. Solomon said he had the body removed.” Sorrow hit her again. She didn’t know Dax well, but he hadn’t deserved to die for somebody else’s power play.
For a second, something hot crossed Caidrik’s face. Anger, maybe. It made the bones of his cheeks stand out and deepened the shadows under his eyes. “Did you find out who poisoned the tea?”
“No. Solomon has no idea.”
Caidrik moved closer and sat on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped toward him, tugging her slightly in his direction. He didn’t touch her, but his presence filled the space. “I think you should go to Jackson and Emily’s territory while these trials are going on.”
Holy crap, the male was on her bed. Close to her in a way he’d never tried before. Why was her body short-circuiting? Yeah, he was hot, but come on. She’d seen sexy males before.
Back to work. Concentrate.
She glanced at the laptop again. The screen was still there, lines of code and half-built output.
The solution wasn’t coming fast. Hopefully she’d figure it out.
The code had come from a scientist in Jackson’s pack who had been happy to help.
Of course, if she did create a formula, she still needed to type in the actual words from the grimoire, and Solomon would have to allow her to do so. “I can’t leave the pack.”
Caidrik stared at her. “Because of the rules?”
“Yes, and I love this pack.” She swallowed, hating how small her voice sounded. “We can’t turn back.”
Caidrik lifted his chin, eyes narrowing. “You sure we can’t create our own rules?”
Warmth slid through her at the way he said it, at the intent behind it. She didn’t want to feel anything right now, but her body reacted so strongly to him. “Yeah,” she said. “I’m positive. At least that’s what Solomon says.”
Caidrik scratched at the rough shadow covering his jaw. “I find it interesting that Luca didn’t drink the tea, especially since he’s from the Ravencall Pack with all of their spices.”
“Yeah, Emily said the same thing.” Nadia shut the laptop with a soft snap and set it on the antique white bedside table.
She placed it carefully, avoiding the pretty pink glass lamp, also antique.
“I just don’t see Luca as somebody who’d poison people, based on our brief interactions.
” She hesitated. “Although he did attack Isaac when he was down.”
“Yeah,” Caidrik said, and his voice dropped. “He did.”
Nadia rubbed her shoulders. The room had cooled fast and her skin goosebumped.
She was only wearing a camisole and shorts.
She thought about pulling the blanket up, thought about covering herself because he was there, because her body was reacting, but she didn’t want to give him that advantage.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she said. “We’re not supposed to have communication outside the trials. ”
“I don’t care.” He leaned forward with his forearms on his thighs, and his gaze locked on her. “I don’t trust anybody else to keep you safe.”
Nadia’s chin lifted. “Why do you want me safe so badly? So you can be the Alpha?”
His eyes flashed. “I want you safe because I want you safe.” The words came out hard. “And yeah, I fully plan on becoming the Alpha.”
She believed him. Both statements. The declaration should’ve annoyed her more than it did.
It should’ve scared her more than it did.
Instead, she kept seeing the moment he hadn’t attacked Isaac when Isaac had been down.
He’d had the opening, and he’d let it pass.
She couldn’t ignore the honor in him. “I wish you could become the Alpha without killing the other three contenders.”
“As do I.” His gaze flicked away and then returned. He looked tired in a way that didn’t match his size. The poison might still be flowing through his body, but he did look better than he had earlier.
She smoothed the duvet cover without thinking, her fingers tracing the raised snowflake pattern.
Little wolves marched along the edge in a neat line.
Bussy had given it to her a couple weeks ago, and Nadia had felt accepted by the elders in the pack.
That had been a nice moment. She looked at Caidrik.
“Please promise that if you do become Alpha, you’ll change these laws. ”
“Of course I’ll change these laws.” He frowned. “Not that it’ll be important. When I become the Alpha, I plan to have plenty of kids to take on the role when necessary.”
“That’s what Philip thought,” she shot back.
Caidrik’s mouth tugged, not quite in a smile but close enough to make him even more handsome, if that were possible. “Fair enough.”
Nadia studied him, taking in the pallor that still clung around his eyes and the stiffness in his shoulders that he was trying to hide. “Are you sure you’re feeling better?”
“Yes. I tried to track the others through the woodlands around us, but everybody ran far and wide to heal.”
It probably was smart. None of them were in top shape. The thought of them scattered in the trees, sick and hunted and trying to recover, made her stomach tighten again. “Except for Luca,” she said quietly.
Caidrik’s expression turned flat. “Yeah. Except for Luca.”
Nadia’s irritation ignited, quick and sharp. If someone had to die, why couldn’t it have been Bulwark? She chose to ignore the fact that they all, except the winner, were supposed to perish. “I’m sorry, but your brother is a total dick.”
“That is an accurate description.” Caidrik sounded almost amused by how cleanly she’d labeled it. “He wasn’t happy growing up. We were mercenaries. We moved with different packs.”
“Because you were kicked out of this one,” Nadia said, watching his face, “or your family was.”
“Yeah.” He didn’t dodge the truth. “My grandfather was kicked out for stealing from the mines, from what I understand. I come from a long line of thieves.”
Nadia huffed a short laugh before she could stop herself. “I come from a long line of farmers. Well, on my mother’s side.” She shook her head once. “Anyway. You know about this side.”
“Yeah.” His gaze stayed on hers. “I think it’s brave you stepped up and tried to help this pack when you’ve only known everybody a couple months.”
His approval hit her in a way she didn’t want to admit. The acceptance warmed her face. “You should go. I do want to follow the rules.”
“Rules.” Caidrik’s voice sharpened. “Who gives a fuck about rules?”
Before she could answer, he reached for her and lifted her off the bed in one smooth motion. His strength was nearly back. She landed on his lap with a startled breath, hands bracing against his shoulders. His skin was cold through his shirt, and his hair smelled of night air and snow.
“Hey,” she said, squirming. “You’re cold.”
“Warm me up, then,” he said, and then he kissed her.